Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Curriculum Of East End Madrassah In Toronto Compared Jews With Nazis

"We told them that we took the book off the website and yesterday [Sunday] we had a meeting and we looked at it and we are correcting it," she said. "It was an error."Masuma Jessa, principal of the East End Madrassah

Oops.

The National Post reports Police investigating Islamic school over curriculum comparing Jews to Nazis. The Toronto police are investigating the East End Madrassah after a complaint about its antisemitic curriculum by Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre. Apparently the anti-Jewish content of the curriculum became evident when it was posted on the East End Madrassah website.

Maybe that is the error Jessa is referring to?
It has since been removed.

According to the article:

The complaints concerned the school’s Level 8 curriculum, which describe historical conflicts between Muslims and Jews. It refers to “Jewish plots and treacheries” as well as “crafty” and “treacherous” Jews.

Another section discusses jihad, which it says means “to strive for something.” But it adds that jihad “sometimes also involves fighting a war against an unjust ruler.” It then quotes Muslim scripture that says about “fighting (in the cause of Allah) is ordained unto you…”

In “Sports and Jihad,” a section of the Level 7 curriculum, it says Islam encouraged boys to engaged in physical training in order to be ready for jihad, but girls were instead to stick to “hobbies” that prepare them to become wives and mothers.

The Level 3 curriculum asks students to color 10 boxes, each representing a branch of Islam. One of the boxes is labeled: Jihad. Later, it explains that jihad “is not just with a weapon, it can be with your writing and speech also,” as well as an internal struggle.

To get a more accurate taste of the kind of Jew hatred found in the East End Madrassah website, the article also supplies the following excerpts from the curriculum.

You can see for yourself that the complaint of antisemitism is not in error:

“Islam has allowed boys to engage in sports for one specific reason and that is to always keep them healthy and strong. But why should a Muslim be healthy and strong? Firstly, it is necessary to take care of the body because it is a gift from Allah. Secondly, so that you may physically be ready for jihad whenever the time comes for it.”

“Islam is a dynamic, comprehensive school that aims at the rectification of the social and economic systems of the world in a special manner. Unlike the beliefs of the ancient Romans, the Jews, and the Nazis, Islam is not restricted to a certain community of a certain race, but is for all human beings…”

“No doubt any wise, humanitarian person accepts such a combat and admires it [jihad]because there is no other way to achieve the sacred ends of the Prophets.”

“End of Jewish Plots and Treacheries: Ever since the Prophet’s entry into Madina, the treacherous Jews had vehemently opposed him and his Islamic call, evoking memories of their hostility to the previous Prophet, Jesus Christ, half a millennium ago. The crafty Jews entered into an alliance with the polytheist Quraish in a bid to stamp out Islam. They conspired to kill Prophet Muhammad despite the fact that he was lenient towards them and had treated them kindly, hoping to convince them of Islam’s truth. But eventually as Jewish plots and aggressions increased, he had no choice other than to take up arms against them, in order to protect Islam and the Muslims. At the battle of Khaiber which is famous for Imam Ali’s heroic exploits, the Prophet defeated them ending Jewish intrigues and conspiracies in Arabia.”

Toronto, ON - This is in response to the press release from The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) dated May 7, 2012 on the subject of Elements in Toronto Madrassah’s Curriculum.

We were first made aware of the issue in an email received from Mr. Avi Benlolo of Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre of Toronto on May 3, 2012, and our attention was drawn to an investigation of anti-Semitic material on our website. A response was sent to Mr. Benlolo acknowledging his concerns and we immediately removed the material from the website.

East End Madrassah has been in existence for almost 40 years and thousands of Muslim students have graduated and have moved on to become law abiding citizens and contributing members of the Canadian society. Our curriculum is not intended to promote hatred towards any individual or group of people, rather the children are taught to respect and value other faiths, beliefs and to uphold Canada’s basic values of decency and tolerance. The excerpt referred to in the press release of CIJA should never have been a part of our curriculum. We unreservedly apologize to the Jewish community for the unintentional offence that the item has caused.

Our team of scholars has already undertaken to review all texts and material being used in the curriculum to ensure that our teachings are conveying the right message.